1 Despite his many accomplishments, Napoleon Bonaparte may be best known for what he almost did. Napoleon almost, but not quite, became ruler of all of Europe.2 Napoleon was born in 1769 on the island of Corsica, which had just become a part of France. Napoleon learned French at an early age, and at the age of nine he attended a French military school.3 Upon his graduation from his first military school, he enrolled in the Ecole Royale Militaire in Paris, where he trained to become an artillery man. In that same year, Napoleon's father died, and Napoleon put all of his energies into his studies. He graduated from his artillery training in just one year, and he had made good use of his short time in the Ecole. Napoleon had studied all of the important military tactics and strategies. He stored the knowledge away for future use.4 After his graduation, Napoleon was commissioned second lieutenant in an artillery regiment of the French army. He was just sixteen years old.